With Mandela Day approaching, the plight of the less fortunate is once again in the spotlight and orphaned children truly deserve the nation’s support and attention. In South Africa, 3,500 children are abandoned each year and only one in three finds the strength to survive. This is according to Arlene Zlotnick, Fundraising Manager at Impilo Child Protection and Adoption Services (Impilo), who works tirelessly to change the futures of as many of these children as they can.
“In the Gauteng region alone, we partner with 18 other organisations to be places of safety for more than 150 orphaned children every month. Of those children, 13% to 19% are refugees. Through our work, we’re able to give them some resemblance of a brighter future,” explains Zlotnick.
The heartbreaking reality of abandonment in South Africa
For thousands of children every year, abandonment comes in two forms, hard and soft. In hard abandonment, a child is deliberately and completely left by their caregivers, with no intention of return or continued care. That often means leaving them in fields, cemeteries, or on the doorstep of orphanages. Hard abandonment often sees the child being found by strangers and needing immediate, critical intervention by Child Protection Services.
“Unfortunately, most of the babies we are seeing are born out of gender-based violence (GBV), for instance, where the mother was raped, usually by a family member. Often, they will then try to carry the pregnancy to term before she herself is abandoned by her family for some other reason. Once that happens, the mothers often try a self-abortion, which lands them in hospital where they abandon the child,” says Zlotnick.
Soft abandonment, on the other hand, involves a gradual or less overt form of neglect. It often happens when caregivers can’t or won’t provide adequate care but do not completely abandon the child.
A glimmer of hope
Fortunately, for the children that Impilo does manage to reach, there is hope. Named after the Zulu word for ‘Life’, Impilo Child Protection and Adoption Services gives hundreds of children a chance for a better life, placing them with strictly vetted families from across the globe.
“To be honest, adoption is usually our option of last resort. Where it is in the child’s best interest, we try to reunite the child with their birth families. If not, we have an extremely thorough vetting process and cultural training for potential parents. We also stay in contact with the adopting families until the child turns 18,” says Zlotnick.
Fortunately, Impilo is not the only one in the children’s corner. Through their support for Impilo, one of South Africa’s leading fibre network providers, Vuma has also firmly thrown its weight behind South Africa’s children.
Taylor Kwong, Head of Marketing at Vuma, says, “We believe in the warmth of kindness and the philosophy of “because we can, we must”. Giving back is part of what we do, and Mandela Day is an amazing opportunity to reflect on what matters the most — helping our youth by giving them a fighting chance. It starts with us connecting with our communities, and ensuring they have the resources and support needed to thrive. We will do anything in our power to help organizations like Impilo continue their work and connect children to a better future.”
Nelson Mandela is often quoted as saying “It is in your hands to make of the world a better place”. This Mandela Day, take your opportunity to make South Africa a better place by helping those who do it every day.
For more information on how you can help Impilo Child Protection and Adoption Services visit https://impilo.org.za/